How To Sleep Better By Eating And Working Out

There's no question about it — we could all use more sleep. Whether it's staying up late reading on our tablets or waking up early to get a head start on our day, Canadians aren't getting the shut-eye they need to stay healthy on a regular basis.

The most recent national data for Canadians' sleep habits found men got eight hours and seven minutes of sleep, while women slept for eleven minutes more. It should be noted, however, that these numbers are from 2005, when the perpetually-connected era was just beginning (and two years before Netflix could be streamed right into your bedroom).

As it stands, most people you know probably complain about their lack of sleep at least once a week, with many suffering from serious sleep disorders like insomnia (which is defined by WebMD as having difficulty falling and/or staying asleep).

Don Gauvreau, the co-CEO and co-founder of Pharmafreak Technologies and SD Pharmaceuticals, is also a personal trainer and former competitive bodybuilder who believes in the healing power of sleep. He's put some of his knowledge about how the body functions towards common myths and facts about how to get better sleep, and shares them with us here:

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8 Natural Ways To Get A Better Night's Sleep

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Theory: Warm milk makes you sleepy due to its tryptophan content (an amino acid that promotes sleep).
How to: The reality is you’d have to drink over five litres to feel the effects of tryptophan. Warm milk is more of a placebo — which is perfectly fine, because if it helps you sleep then why not try it?

Theory: Bananas contain high levels of magnesium, a mineral that acts like a muscle relaxant, and potassium which can help regulate sleep patterns and calm your nerves.
How to: Make bananas your bedtime snack and it could help you get to sleep faster.

Theory: Although drinking warm tea before bed hasn’t been proven to help you sleep better, the ritual of sitting down to drink it can help you unwind after a long day.
How to: Make sure to reach for non-caffeinated teas, such as valerian and chamomile, which can help make you drowsy. Although sleep-inducing benefits aren’t actual properties of these teas, making this a part of your bedtime ritual can help you relax before bed.

Theory: Regular exercise maintains and improves cardiovascular health, which is a key to a good night’s sleep.
How to: The most efficient way to maintain a regular exercise regimen is to find a form of physical activity that you enjoy and schedule it into your day as you would a meeting or a meal. Regular exercise will help you feel energized throughout the day and tire you out for a restful night’s sleep.

Theory: Although all physical exercise is good, no matter what time of the day, exercise stimulates your heart, brain and muscles, so working out right before bed might make it harder for you to fall asleep.
How to: Exercise gives you energy, so try morning and afternoon workouts to get you through the day and avoid exercising four hours before bedtime.

Theory: Practicing a five to 10-minute yoga routine before bed can help you ease into a sleeping mode.
How to: Some helpful poses you can do to prepare for sleep are the upside-down relaxation, winding down twist and the night-time goddess stretch. The best part is you can do all these moves on your bed!

Theory: If you are exercising regularly, having a bedtime snack to curb the hunger pains can help you focus on sleep instead of your rumbling tummy.
How to: Bread, cookies and cereal seem like the obvious go-tos, however they will spike your blood sugar. This causes your body to release hormones to regulate your sugar levels, stimulating your brain and causing you to lay awake counting sheep. Instead, reach for low-sugar, high-protein foods such as Greek yogurt, a few ounces of chicken or a tablespoon of nut butter, all of which won’t spike your blood sugar and will allow your brain to be ready for sleep.

NEXT: 9 perks of a good night's sleep

Theory: Eating a large meal right before climbing into bed puts a lot of stress on your stomach to digest, which may keep you awake. Also, watch out for spicy or acidic snacks, as they may cause indigestion and heartburn.
How to: Aim to eat dinner no later than three hours before your bedtime to ensure it’s been fully digested before climbing into bed.

Sleeping beauty had this one right: regular shuteye alone actually makes you look prettier, according to a 2010 study published in the British Medical Journal.
The researchers took photos of 23 people after a normal night's sleep of eight hours and after a period of sleep deprivation. Then, a group of 65 people rated each set of photos for perceived health, attractiveness and tiredness. The sleep deprived group scored lower in all three categories.
"We propose that sleep is a cheap and effective beauty treatment, both acutely and in the long-term," John Axelsson, lead researcher on the study, told MSNBC. "Sleep should be seen as the body's natural beauty treatment and a clear alternative or complement to other beauty treatments."
Sleep can also actually help to keep your skin in top condition. Over the long term, sleep deprivation can cause increased stress-related aging, a decreased ability to stay hydrated and a decreased ability to fight off environmental pollutants, writes Elizabeth Tanzi, M.D. on DoctorOz.com.
"The most important thing you can do for your skin may be getting a great night's sleep," dermatologist Dr. Howard Murad told the Los Angeles Times.

Both experts and scientific data have long connected lack of sleep with increased hunger and weight gain -- and now a recent study has quantified the phenomenon. The findings, presented last month at an American Heart Association meeting, suggest that otherwise healthy people may eat more than 500 additional calories a day when they're sleep deprived, the Huffington Post reported when the study first came out.

Stumped? You may want to sleep on it.
A study published last year in the Journal of Sleep Research found that people make smarter calls after a good night's sleep. The researchers asked 54 young adults to play a card game aimed to imitate casino gambling. Those who were well-rested made decisions that resulted in greater winnings four times more often than those who were sleep deprived -- and they had a firmer grasp on the rules.
"This provides support for what Mom and Dad have always advised," lead author and psychologist Rebecca Spencer, of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said in a statement. "There is something to be gained from taking a night to sleep on it when you're facing an important decision. We found that the fact that you slept makes your decisions better."

If you're sorting through a painful memory, try giving it a rest.
One small study last year found that sleep might help to take the edge off difficult emotional experiences that happen during your waking hours.
"The dream stage of sleep, based on its unique neurochemical composition, provides us with a form of overnight therapy, a soothing balm that removes the sharp edges from the prior day's emotional experiences," senior author Matthew Walker, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at UC Berkeley said in a statement.
But remember we're talking a solid eight-hours of shuteye -- too much sleep may be a sign of depression.

You may be conditioned to think that the best way to learn is to stay up all night cramming, but the truth is that you'd be better off to get some sleep.
Several studies have linked rest with increased performance on learning-related tasks, and now a new study has found that the timing of sleep may matter, too.
The researchers asked more than 200 people to memorize related words (such as "fire and smoke") and unrelated words (think: "insect and truth"). When later tested for recall, those who slept just after learning performed better than those who went a whole day before sleeping.

Ever notice how you can read the same paragraph over and over again when you're tired, without ever really retaining anything? That same phenomenon can result in your home or work-space becoming cluttered, explains Robert Oexman, D.C., director of the Sleep to Live Institute in Joplin, Mo. When humans are sleepy, they can lack the focus and drive to stay on task long enough to keep things orderly.
"Sleep-deprived people can't focus very well," he told The Huffington Post. "A lot of things are cluttered in their lives and they find themselves less organized."

It's the oldest excuse in the book: "Honey, I'm too tired." And while there's certainly some truth to being too exhausted to have sex, Oexman believes there's something deeper at work here. Chronic sleep deprivation can take a mental toll that affects how people perceive their own attractiveness and, in turn, sexual desire.
"They don't just not feel like it," Oexman says. "They really don't feel like it. They don't feel good about themselves."

Too wiped to hit the gym after work? The culprit may actually be your sleep habits, not the stress of your job. "Work should not wear you out," Oexman says -- you may be mentally exhausted, but, if you're working a desk job, you shouldn't be physically exhausted, as well. So if you feel like you just can't do it, consider upping your hours of shuteye each night.
Added bonus: sleep can actually be a boon to your athletic ability. One study published last year found a correlation between increased sleep and improved performance in elite college basketball players.
"Intuitively many players and coaches know that rest and sleep are important, but it is often the first to be sacrificed," study author Cheri Mah said in a statement. "Healthy and adequate sleep hasn't had the same focus as other areas of training for peak performance."
Some research also suggests that regular rest can aid with muscle memory, Oexman says, which helps you learn how to do all kinds of new tasks, like perfecting your golf swing.

We all know a bad night's sleep can make us grumpy. And over time, that can take a real toll on your personality.
"People who don't sleep well tend to over-escalate a problem," Oexman says. In fact, one study even found that sleep deprived people could be more likely to blame other people and plan revenge against them.
"Sleepier people seem to engage in counterfactual thinking that is more dissatisfied and perhaps more selfish," study author David Mastin, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, said in a statement. "It may be that the sleepier you are, the more likely your musings are to be angry thoughts about how others could have done better."
So if you can't stop thinking how everyone else is to blame, you might want to pause to consider how many hours you've been clocking in bed each night.

It's pretty much common sense that if you're rundown or exhausted, you'll be more susceptible to picking up a bad cold. But a recent study helped to explain that link further. As The Huffington Post reported when the findings were released:
Researchers found that the body's circadian clock controls an essential immune system gene in mice -- a gene that helps the body ward off bacteria and viruses.
"People intuitively know that when their sleep patterns are disturbed, they are more likely to get sick," study author Erol Fikrig, professor of epidemiology at the Yale School of Medicine, said in a press release. "It does appear that disruptions of the circadian clock influence our susceptibility to pathogens."

Drink Warm MilkTheory: Warm milk makes you sleepy due to its tryptophan content (an amino acid that promotes sleep).How to: The reality is you’d have to drink over five litres to feel the effects of tryptophan. Warm milk is more of a placebo — which is perfectly fine, because if it helps you sleep then why not try it?

BananasTheory: Bananas contain high levels of magnesium, a mineral that acts like a muscle relaxant, and potassium which can help regulate sleep patterns and calm your nerves.How to: Make bananas your bedtime snack and it could help you get to sleep faster.

TeaTheory: Although drinking warm tea before bed hasn’t been proven to help you sleep better, the ritual of sitting down to drink it can help you unwind after a long day.How to: Make sure to reach for non-caffeinated teas, such as valerian and chamomile, which can help make you drowsy. Although sleep-inducing benefits aren’t actual properties of these teas, making this a part of your bedtime ritual can help you relax before bed.

Maintain A Regular Exercise RegimenTheory: Regular exercise maintains and improves cardiovascular health, which is a key to a good night’s sleep.How to: The most efficient way to maintain a regular exercise regimen is to find a form of physical activity that you enjoy and schedule it into your day as you would a meeting or a meal. Regular exercise will help you feel energized throughout the day and tire you out for a restful night’s sleep.

Avoid Evening WorkoutsTheory: Although all physical exercise is good, no matter what time of the day, exercise stimulates your heart, brain and muscles, so working out right before bed might make it harder for you to fall asleep.How to: Exercise gives you energy, so try morning and afternoon workouts to get you through the day and avoid exercising four hours before bedtime.

Practice YogaTheory: Practicing a five to 10-minute yoga routine before bed can help you ease into a sleeping mode.How to: Some helpful poses you can do to prepare for sleep are the upside-down relaxation, winding down twist and the night-time goddess stretch. The best part is you can do all these moves on your bed!

No Large Meals Within Three Hours Of BedtimeTheory: Eating a large meal right before climbing into bed puts a lot of stress on your stomach to digest, which may keep you awake. Also, watch out for spicy or acidic snacks, as they may cause indigestion and heartburn.How to: Aim to eat dinner no later than three hours before your bedtime to ensure it’s been fully digested before climbing into bed.

Grab Protein Instead Of Carbs For A Bedtime SnackTheory: If you are exercising regularly, having a bedtime snack to curb the hunger pains can help you focus on sleep instead of your rumbling tummy.How to: Bread, cookies and cereal seem like the obvious go-tos, however they will spike your blood sugar. This causes your body to release hormones to regulate your sugar levels, stimulating your brain and causing you to lay awake counting sheep. Instead, reach for low-sugar, high-protein foods such as Greek yogurt, a few ounces of chicken or a tablespoon of nut butter, all of which won’t spike your blood sugar and will allow your brain to be ready for sleep.